a/n: We thought we'd be nice and give you one more chapter today...

disclaimer: We don't own Richelle Mead's world or characters

Sydney's POV:

The only good part about this was that it turned out I wasn't alone.

They opened up the back of a silver van and tossed me in. "Yell and you get a bite," he said. "Like him."

Him. There was someone else in the van?

The doors closed and it was pitch dark.

My cell was pitch dark. And I was the only one who didn't see me. Was someone watching me right now?

Whether it was the memory, or the situation, or the cool draft coming from the door, I was shaking.

Focus on something else. Focus on him.

I didn't know what to do. Was I to just feel around for this person, groping nothingness until I brushed against him, or did I wait until he spoke. Should I have said something?

I opened my mouth, but decided against it.

Hello? I thought to my companion. Who are you?

"Who's here?" slurred a familiar voice. Adrian. I crawled toward his voice.

The van started with a vibration and a low rumble. I reached out one arm, as far as I could, and felt around as I continued crawling, trying to find him.

Eventually I did. I brushed against warm skin.

"Who's there?"

I felt along his forearm until I found his hand and, first linked my fingers with his. He didn't get it.

"What are you doing?"

I brought his hand up to my face, ran his fingers across my features.

They said they bit him. He seemed higher than ever.

"Sydney? Wait... What are you doing here? Are you going to be here too?"

I nodded, keeping his hand on my face. He pushed my hand away and ran his fingers through my hair.

"I wish they'd turn on some lights so I could see you. Your so pretty. Sad it's so dark."

I sighed and pulled away quickly. He was high.

"Wait... Where did you go?"

The van lurched forward. We were probably leaving court. Even if it was filled with moroi and dhampirs, I didn't want to leave it for this.

"Are you gone? Damn, am I insane again? You felt so real..."

I leaned forward and let his hand find my arm. He followed it up, which almost made me pull away, and feathered his fingertips along my face.

"What's wrong?"

It was like he didn't know we were just kidnapped by strigoi. Actually, by the looks of him, I wouldn't be surprised. His hand started to play with my hair. A morroi was touching my hair. I gently pushed his hand away.

"Hey..." he murmured. "Where did you go?"

I crawled to the other side of the compartment and curled up.

"Sage? Sydney? Am I insane? Am I high? Wait, I think I am. Now I remember. The strigoi kidnapped us and bit me. I think."

Lissa's POV:

"What's going on?" Rose said, sounding serious.

I watched her face turn from worried and slightly annoyed to a grim concentration.

"Where?" She paused. "Christian? Hello? Can you hear me?"

A moment passed in silence. She hung up the phone and turned to the guardian trying to usher me on.

"We have to stop the press conference. Now."

"Why?" he said.

"There are strigoi in court."

I stared at her in shock. The guardian said something back, but I didn't hear it. Strigoi in court. Strigoi in court.

"They all want me," I said.

"Well, they aren't getting you," Rose answered, looking mad.

"I mean the press. They'll only listen to me. I'll go out there and tell them."

"I don't know where they are," Rose said. "What if they're nearby? And if you were a target before you became the queen- "

"Then come on stage with me, just in case I need you. But I doubt they're going to leave without seeing me once."

She shifted her weight to the other foot and nodded. "You're probably right."

I took the few steps to get on stage and tried to look calm as I walked to the center. Everyone cheered for me.

There was a podium set up with a tiny microphone. It was held up by a flexible stand, like a desk lamp would be.

"Attention!" I called. "Attention, everyone."

Slowly, too slowly, it quieted until the only noise was the crackle of the microphone and the camera clicks.

I quickly looked at Rose. She stood with a guardian stiffness at my side. I turned back to the crowd.

"I need to make an announcement. We are not going to continue the press conference, be- "

Noise erupted. There were shouts demanding reasons and demanding us to continue.

"Quiet, please! This is important."

It got quieter again, but the whispers continued.

"We won't be continuing the press conference, because I was just informed that there are strigoi in court."

Jill's POV:

I was shaking and waiting. It was only a matter of time.

The door slammed open. I didn't know a door could slam open. There had to be a lot. I could hear them moving around.

My heart was pounding. I was holding my breath now, thinking one thing over and over again.

Please, don't find me. Please, don't find me.

Adrian's POV:

My head was pounding.

Not unusual for me recently, with my renewed appreciation of anything that comes from a bottle. But I couldn't even remember opening one.

The last thing I could remember...

Strigoi.

I sat up. Too fast: my head spun and I pressed my hand onto the surface underneath me to steady myself. It was cold concrete.

The darkness was all around me. I couldn't see anything.

"Is anyone there?" I whispered. Talking normally seemed too loud for the silence.

No one answered. Not in words at least, but I heard a shifting of fabric and timid footsteps.

A hand touched my arm and I jumped but recovered quickly. "Who's that?"

They found me again and put their hand in mine.

Her hand was small and smooth with thin fingers. Her nails were well trimmed, not short like a nail biter's and not long either.

"Sydney."

She squeezed my hand.

"Where are we?"

I wished she'd talk. Any other time, I could have dealt with it. Would I have liked it, no. But I could have dealt with it. There were other ways of communicating. Now there was a barrier. There was darkness.

She pulled my hand to her head and it moved side to side. She didn't know.

"The strigoi though."

She nodded.

"Did they... bite me."

She nodded again.

I rubbed my thumb up and down her cheek bone. There was almost nothing there: just the bone and the skin. Whatever the strigoi were planning to do to us, Sydney wouldn't be able to withstand much of it.

"Have they hurt you?"

She shook her head.

"Why are you shaking?"

She shook her head again. But her jaw continued to twitch very slightly. Like she was shivering.

I wasn't that cold, but aren't you supposed to get easily cold when you weigh less?

"Come here. Warm up."

She backed away from me, making my hand slip away. When I reached out, all I found was air.

"Sage, c'mon," I said. "Fine, don't come here, but I want to know where you are."

Clothing rustled far in front of me and a little to my right.

"I hate loopholes. When I'm not the one using them."

We sat in silence a moment, and I heard clothing rustle again. Her shoes, which were actually borrowed from Jill, seemed loud against the concrete floor. From the sound of it, she was pacing. I stood, picked a direction, and walked that way with my arms out in front of me. Where were the walls? Where was the door?

My hands touched bricks. When I rubbed my hand on it, bits rubbed off, making me think they must be clay or something like it.

"Sydney, did you see where they took us?" I asked. Clay bricks and concrete floors.

Suddenly, a dim light filled the room, and I could see my hand. I turned to find there was a light under a door about ten feet away. The room was a perfect square with ceilings low enough to feel claustrophobic.

Sydney was frozen in the middle of the room, staring at the light coming from under the door.

Two pairs of slow footsteps meandered our way.